www.maderatribune.comServing the Heart of California since 1892http://www.maderatribune.com/node/7006/atom.xml2015-03-03T20:32:49+00:00http://www.maderatribune.com/columns/fall-back-and-other-nonsense2013-11-03T06:58:04+00:002013-11-05T06:58:21+00:00Fall back and other nonsensewebmaster

It is that time of year again. Before we go to bed tonight, we need to succumb to the insanity of changing from daylight saving time to standard time. Who but the government thinks if you take logs off the bottom of the woodpile and lay them on the top, the stack of wood will magically get taller? That is why it is a Congress of baboons.

Changing the time twice a year is annoying. Ben Franklin came up with the idea and in 1784 published a paper titled “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light,” according to www.timeanddate.com. The premise extolled the virtues of rising earlier to make use of the sunlight as an economical way to use fewer candles. How would Franklin feel about all the digital clocks in my life 229 years after his bright idea?

Conspiracies

I’m a big fan of government conspiracies. When I visited Dallas, I walked around on the grassy knoll and picked up half a dozen empty shell casings. That is a bit of an exaggeration of course but I have a theory I want to share.

Last weekend I drove to Twain Harte with my friend Stefanie Eddings for my brother’s wedding. Following an Internet mapping source, we drove to Modesto before eventually finding State Route 108 that took use through Sonora, Jamestown and to our destination. The trip took just short of three hours. In the spirit of full disclosure, we weren’t in a hurry and we did get a little lost...